Advanced Socialnomics

Now that we’ve dispelled all rumours regarding social media’s inability to add value, let’s cover something more advanced. Integration.

Social media is everywhere, linked to everything, and constantly shifting the marketing landscape. But Google’s latest innovation, “Search Plus Your World”, has turned social media into air… You need it to survive. More-so than ever, there is a need for social media to be a part of any successful online marketing campaign.

So how does it work? Essentially, Google will now find content that’s been shared with you privately along with the standard search results field you’re currently accustomed to, all at once. Suddenly the importance of every consumer sharing positive stories and links about your brand, product and service grows exponentially. Now it will come up in people’s relevant searches. The personalised results will include the following:

The normal search results

Search results that are pushed higher in ranking because your own behavioural patterns

Search results that are pushed higher because of what your social connections are doing

Public Google Plus posts

Private Google Plus posts that have been shared directly with you

Now currently Google’s latest innovation only takes into account content shared on its own social media network, Google Plus. This has caused some controversy, as many claim that it’s simply a way to favour its own content and leave competitors in its wake. However, Google has publicly said that it’s open to using this system with other social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.

What does this mean for you business? You need a social media campaign. Now.

AOL along with Nielsen released a remarkable study revealing 27 million pieces of content are shared on a daily basis – not including social networking sites – of which 60% mention a brand or product name. As for social media, every 20 minutes on Facebook there are over a million links shared, almost two million status updates, and almost three million photos uploaded. How many of those do you think are related to a brand, product or service? Now imagine if all those shared stories, photos, links, comments, videos and blog posts are integrated into Google’s search results. What does that mean for your business? How will you perform against your competitors who have fantastic social media campaigns and are all over the internet?

While some might say that Michael is addicted to the online world, he prefers the term “healthy enthusiasm”. During the winter months, he spends his hibernation researching the latest trends in digital marketing and figuring out ways to make more money than Google. No luck yet. But Michael nevertheless firmly believes that the world is his oyster, and he intends on eating it.